Mopsos

On April 18. 2003, at 4:00 PM, our little daughter Rose, aged 2, fell into a pond and drowned. This sudden death left us heartbroken, and it changed my life.

I think I now understand a little more what human suffering is. I also know that when your heart breaks, Love and Hope can also flow out of it. I learned the virtue of humility. When you finally recognize that you are not the center of the world, your stress level lowers and your life can take a completely new meaning.

"- It's not what you know
- It's knowing when you know that you don't know.
- It's knowing who knows what. It's intuition, insight, and years of making mistakes.
- It's knowing when to approach a key customer and let him know you're listening.
- It's knowing whether he likes golf or fishing or building houses for the poor.
- It's knowing how to get the best price for a flight, a car, or a mortgage on the Internet.
- It's the knowledge of the hands-knowing how to keep that old lathe running smoothly.
- It's the ability to know what's wrong with something just by the smell, whether it's a gourmet dish or a car engine.
- It's knowing how to work as a team.
- It's knowing how to really listen.
- It's knowing when not to say anything. To let others learn for themselves.
- It's knowing that you don't need to know it all to have all the answers.
- It's knowing that the next best thing to knowing something is knowing where to find it.
- It's knowing that you can make mistakes and admit it.
- It's knowing that innovation comes from making more mistakes faster than your competition and learning from them.
- As an individual, it's knowing why you work for a living. Is it to pay the rent? Or do you have the luxury of looking for meaning?
- As an organization, it's knowing why your firm exists and what, if anything, you owe to society."
(Brian Hackett - Sept 2001)

I am fortunate enough to have the luxury of looking for meaning, and it makes me a happy man.

I wish you all the same for 2004. Happy New Year!

dear martin... i lost my sister 11 april 2003.. i would like to think that she and your rose are in a good place together... so sorry that i missed this post of yours at the turning of the year... i too reflect on the luxury of our lives and feel blessed beyond words... best regards... judith

Posted by: judith at January 30, 2004 06:19 AM

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